Saudi Arabia announces jail-term, fine for violating Umrah regulations
Riyadh : Citizens and expatriates who are found transporting, employing, sheltering or providing cover-up to any overstaying Umrah pilgrim will be imprisoned and fined, Director of Public Relations and Information Administration at the Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat) Brig. Gen. Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saad reiterated on Sunday.
During the launch of the Passport Department’s annual awareness campaign on the Umrah season, Saad said that expatriates violating Umrah regulations will be deported after serving imprisonment and paying fines.
The penalties are multiplied if the number of violators are more than one. The Umrah regulation awareness campaign will continue from Dec. 2, 2018 to June 18, 2019.
It aims to acquaint Umrah pilgrims coming from abroad with the Kingdom’s regulations, which do not allow them to overstay their visas.
The Jawazat has completed its preparations to serve Umrah pilgrims and has readied offices at international entry points.
Well-trained staff have been provided with sophisticated equipment to detect forged documents and fake photos on Umrah pilgrims’ official travel documents, Saad said.
Courtesy : saudigazette.com.sa
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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
